Monday, August 17, 2015

There were some people in line in front of me at one of our neighborhood cafés this weekend, and as they neared the pastry case the man said, Oh, what do they have here? I bet everything is whole grain..., and the woman finished his sentence, or vegan! And then they both slapped their legs, leaned their heads back, and let out a, BAHAHAHAHAHA! The funny thing is this café doesn't serve one whole grain or vegan pastry. I kind of wish they did. Anyway, this reminded me of the clear stigma attached to the word vegan. Notice the knee slapping did not occur until after she said vegan.

Maybe it's less about the definition and more about the actual word. Say it out loud. Vegan. It does have a dour sound, no? There are other terms. Plant-based, whole food plant-based, or simply herbivore. I rather like herbivore, although it doesn't appear to be working for the dinosaur, and it doesn't really help when ordering a meal in a restaurant, which requires a lot of, can I order this without ______? And a lot of servers wincing behind their smiles.

I get it. For many years I proudly answered, zero dietary restrictions, whenever asked. I felt I was doing everyone a favor. I was low-maintenance. Then I slowly transitioned from a pescetarian diet, to vegetarian, to dinosaur, and life changed.

Eating at home is pretty easy, it does require thought, but mostly nutritional thought, something I should have always been considering. I've enjoyed combining new tastes, textures, colors, etc. in my own kitchen. It is being out and about in the world that is challenging. And I live in San Francisco. I know some people believe we are all free love vegans over here on the left coast, but we are not.

So I'm finding myself in situation after situation where I'm different, really different, and this is new to me. Blending in quietly didn't used to be a problem. It's a little harder now. So I decided to just go with it and do things like buy this t-shirt. I feel good. My body feels healthy. Laugh if you must, but I'm going to carry on. I hope it builds character.

i believe in it. i struggle with the fact my son, who lives here still, is a carnivore, and me being a mum, and i like to cook, there's meat on the table most days. so, one day, i like to say, there'll be the switch. i have hope and that's that. good on you though! the garden plot helps!! ;))) n♥

I love this T-shirt! I think that there will always be people who have to criticize those different than them...but I also think that there are stigmas attached to those things people think are 'trends' or 'fads'. Right now, things like yoga, gluten-free, vegan etc. are 'trendy'. That's great but it makes them and the people who practice them easy targets. I will never understand this... I'm not vegan...not even vegetarian...although we don't eat a lot of meat and most of what we do eat is local... but I feel the same way as you admitting that I do yoga. In fact, I don't talk about it very often because I don't want to face the backlash that often comes with those conversations. Like you though, I'll carry on...

Hi, I'm late coming to this. I love that shirt :) This resonates but I've made the opposite move: I was rigorously vegetarian then vegan (though as I lived in Brussels it was hard - but for one amazing place) for a few years back in the 90's, then gradually moved to pescatarian after I became pregnant. Husband and son are both occasional meat-eaters though my son attends an unusual type of school and school food is vegan. I always wonder about people's capacity to judge and sneer at the choices of others...what a shame you have to feel awkward about your path. Courage friend!